Gun shops in Northern California: Looking towards the future

BRIDGETON, MO - NOVEMBER 12: Customers shop for a handgun at Metro Shooting Supplies on November 12, 2014 in Bridgeton, Missouri. The suburban St. Louis store is located near Ferguson, Missouri where several weeks of sometimes violent protests erupted following the shooting death of Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9th. The gun shop last week experienced a 300 percent increase in sales over the same period last year. About 60 percent of those sales were from first-time gun owners. The increase is attributed in part to concern from residents of additional outbreaks of violence if the grand jury investigating Brown's death does not find justification to prosecute Wilson for the shooting. The grand jurys decision is expected sometime in November. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)2

Way back in 1998, lawmakers up in Northern California's Alameda county passed a gun control ordinance for unincorporated areas within the county.

It prohibited new gun shops within 500 feet of residential neighborhoods, schools, liquor stores, or another gun shop.

Shop owners sued, charging that the county was restricting the constitutional rights to buy and sell firearms.From there, things got complicated. The case was dismissed, reinstated...and yesterday a federal appeals ordered yet another rehearing.

All this is important to gun rights advocates and to proponents of gun control - because there are similar ordinances in a lot of other California cities and counties.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Bob Egelko, who has written about this, spoke to A Martinez for more.

Way back in 1998, lawmakers up in Northern California's Alameda county passed a gun control ordinance for unincorporated areas within the county.

To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.